The Saintess Is Too Good at Lying - Chapter 86

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Saint Is Such a Good Liar! Episode 086
—Crash!
The ground trembled briefly as the explosive detonated with a deafening roar.
Dust billowed everywhere around us. I quickly checked to ensure the children were unharmed.
“Are you all okay?”
Fortunately, because I’d thrown the explosive and simultaneously erected a protective barrier, none of them had sustained injuries.
“Sob… S-Saint…”
“You were all quite frightened, weren’t you? We’re safe now. Everything’s fine—let’s head home.”
I embraced each trembling child one by one, patting their backs reassuringly before helping them to their feet.
“Hold hands with each other and follow me closely.”
Despite their frightened expressions, the children obediently followed my instructions with composure.
‘I wonder what’s happened with Cassandro?’
Only then did I check on Cassandro’s situation, and I couldn’t help but laugh. The situation had already been cleanly resolved.
Several robed figures were bound to stone pillars with gags in their mouths—Cassandro had apparently kept them alive as evidence.
The rest lay sprawled across the floor.
‘He’s truly remarkable.’
Even though I’d witnessed the battle unfold, the devastated state of the Temple felt surreal.
‘I hope he’s not injured anywhere.’
It didn’t seem likely, but still. What was I worried about anyway? I’m a Saint—I can heal him if needed.
“Come on, children, just a little further. We’re almost there.”
Crack.
The moment those words left my lips, an ominous sound echoed from above my head. It was exactly like the sound of wood splitting.
‘Surely not…’
When I looked up, a fissure that had begun from some unknown point was rapidly tearing across the ceiling.
Suddenly, the cracking sound ceased. A moment later, a small fragment of stone fell from above.
Damn it.
“Get down!”
The instant I cried out, the ceiling behind us collapsed inward all at once.
Falling rocks brought down the stone pillars in front, causing the ceiling to cave in sequentially.
For a long while, the deafening sound of rocks crashing against my barrier filled the air.
“…Are you all okay?”
Only after everything fell silent did I find the courage to check on the children. Fortunately, none of them appeared to be injured.
The problem was…
“H-how do we get out of here?”
Rubble had piled up all the way to the top of my barrier. If the cave had collapsed all the way to the entrance, rescue would be difficult.
This is exactly why I’d tried to avoid using explosives here…!
‘Where is Sir Tyrel?’
My vision blurred as everything shook violently.
It seemed he was rushing toward our location rather than the exit, and fortunately, the cave hadn’t completely collapsed.
My trembling vision settled on the pile of rubble, then dropped downward—as if I had simply collapsed to the ground.
No, we’re alive. Don’t lose hope already!
“Sir Cassandro!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs, but Cassandro’s gaze didn’t waver in the slightest.
Damn it, we must be too far away for him to hear my voice.
“Please save us!”
“Children, conserve your strength. No one can hear us right now anyway.”
The children’s expressions grew desperate.
“Are we going to die?”
“There’s no way. I’m absolutely not dying here.”
I need to go home and have my formal suit tailored for my first day of work. I’m going to take new photos for my ID card in it, meet up with friends after all this time, and enjoy some chicken and beer.
“It’s fine. Someone outside will come to rescue us.”
I shrugged casually to reassure the children. I was the oldest one here, so I couldn’t afford to show any signs of panic.

* * *
The sparsely populated Fiore Grimward Forest had been in turmoil for days.
The Cathedral’s Holy Knights had mobilized in force to conduct rescue operations at the collapsed cave.
On that day, Archbishop Formoso himself visited the rescue site.
“Have you received any news yet?”
Formoso pressed Cassandro, the commander of the Holy Knight Order overseeing the Saint’s rescue operation, with an anxious expression.
“We didn’t send too few Holy Knights, so how is it that we still have no substantial updates?”
“….”
“Sir Cassandro!”
“I’m doing my best.”
Cassandro, who had been standing with his head bowed and his hand pressed to his forehead even before the Archbishop, finally lifted his gaze.
Only then did Formoso, meeting his face for the first time, flinch and furrow his brow.
“I’m doing everything I can, Your Eminence.”
“…Yes, your appearance is certainly in quite a state.”
Formoso belatedly expressed concern for him.
“Are you getting any sleep? Your complexion looks terrible.”
“I’m fine. There’s no need for concern.”
It was a response that seemed polite yet subtly insolent.
By nature, he paid no heed to the opinions of the Archbishop or anyone else, but today he seemed particularly irritable.
However, Formoso was not lenient enough with Cassandro to overlook this. He spoke with a sharp edge to his words.
“Don’t burden yourself with so much guilt. Of course, it’s true that you failed to properly protect the Saint.”
“….”
“But that emotion isn’t helpful right now.”
“I continue to be plagued by regret.”
Cassandro stared at Formoso intently before muttering under his breath.
“I should never have sent Justitia to that place.”
One of Formoso’s eyebrows twitched. It was a remark that deeply irritated him.
After all, it was he who had entrusted Justitia with this mission in the first place.
And to call her “Justitia” so casually, no less.
Formoso had to struggle to conceal his dismay at how the number of people who dared speak the Saint’s name so carelessly had grown.
“If you regret it so much, why don’t you stop your self-pity and get to the rescue work already?”
And so Formoso, rarely sharp-tongued, shot back before heading outside.
Cassandro remained seated in place even after he left.
“Commander.”
Sir Tyrel, who had been watching, offered careful consolation to Cassandro.
“It’s not your fault, Commander. The Saint only requested minimal escort in the first place….”
“Enough, Sir Tyrel.”
Cassandro cut off Tyrel’s words with a cold voice.
“It’s entirely my fault. I failed to protect the one I should have protected—where is there room for excuses?”
“It’s not an excuse… I’m saying this because I’m worried you’ll collapse first at this rate. You’ve barely slept these past few days and devoted yourself entirely to the rescue work. And you’re not the only one here, either.”
“I’m fine. It’s only been a few days.”
Cassandro muttered dismissively and rose from his seat. Tyrel gasped and tried to stop him.
“Surely you’re not heading back into the cave?”
….
“Commander, please rest!”
Cassandro ignored him and headed toward the cave. Just then, a Holy Knight emerged from within, his expression exhausted.
“What’s the situation?”
“It’s the same. We continue to detect reactions deeper inside, but… we still haven’t sensed any signs of life.”
“Good work. I’ll go in now.”
“Yes? Commander, you need to rest…!”
“I’m fine.”
Ignoring the familiar protest, Cassandro entered the cave with only a single torch in hand.
The chiseled stone pillars and cracked ceiling looked so precarious they might collapse at any moment.
Even the slightest disturbance could trigger further collapse, so the accessible passages were severely limited. It was also difficult to deploy large numbers of workers.
In the end, there was no choice but to resort to the primitive method of sending in one person at a time to manually move the rocks.
With each step, the sound of stone fragments crumbling echoed eerily.
Cassandro squeezed through the gaps between the collapsed rubble, advancing deeper.
As he silently cleared away the rocks, he thought of Justitia beyond them. His grip on the stone tightened.
Though his body was exhausted from barely sleeping these past few days, this was the only way he could endure.
If he didn’t do something every single hour for Justitia, the guilt felt like it was strangling him.
‘She shouldn’t have come with me.’
He should have stopped her somehow. To have driven the Saint into danger in the name of justice.
He didn’t even deserve to be a Holy Knight. Cassandro clenched his teeth against the anguish rising within him.
Even if it meant dying there protecting the Saint, he should never have let her go alone.
No matter how much divine power she possessed, a cave-in was undoubtedly dangerous.
Moreover, she must have expended considerable divine power protecting the children with her, so by now her divine power was likely nearly depleted.
With such thoughts, he didn’t even notice his hands breaking as he moved the rocks—a desperate grip like a drowning man clutching at straw.
My fingertips brushed against something solid. It wasn’t rough and jagged like stone, but smooth to the touch.
Cassandro’s eyes sharpened with intensity.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————